Learn
more about the soapmaking process in the History of Soap
section.

Barbara
displays some handmade soaps.

About / Contact

Barbara has enjoyed the quality of hand-made
soap for many years. After almost a year of research
on soap-making techniques and aromatherapy, her first
batch of soap was created in early 1998. In the beginning,
Barbara intended to make soap just for herself, and
her family and friends. But everyone who tried her soap
loved it, and encouraged her to make more and expand
her repertoire of fragrances. So BARBARABARS
was born.

BARBARABARS began as –
and continues to be – a one-person enterprise
(with a little behind-the-scenes help from her husband).
Barbara researches, creates, and packages every bar
herself. She is also the clerk, secretary, bookkeeper,
and salesperson. She wants to keep her business small,
and limit the amount of soap she creates, so that she
can be directly responsible for every step in the process.

Barbara’s soap is made using the
classic cold-process method. She uses only the highest
quality pomace olive, coconut and palm kernel oils,
which are combined with sodium hydroxide to chemically
create soap. All the sodium hydroxide is consumed in
the chemical process – none remains in the finished
product. Rosemary Oleoresin Extract, a natural preservative,
is added. The soap is produced in small (eight pound)
batches, one batch at a time, in her home in the Emory
University area of Atlanta, Georgia.

Barbara constantly looks for new ways to improve her
products. To further her skills in aromatherapy and
perfume science, she visited the center of the French
fragrance industry in Provence September 2003. She learned
more about the production of essential oils, the art
and science of fragrance compounding and picked some
ideas for packaging her products.